As more and more circuits are being applied into smaller and smaller spaces on circuit chips, the need for cleanliness and the minimizing of likelihood of collecting particles becomes more and more important. Previously, containers have been used for enclosing semiconductor wafers for shipping and storage. Processing of semiconductors wafers usually requires the use of a wafer carrier; and containers have been used for confining a wafer carrier full of semiconductor wafers so that when storage has been completed, the wafers can be removed from the container by simply lfiting the wafer carrier out of the container, whereupon the carrier and wafers are ready for immediate processing.
However, in the past, it has been commonly necessary to again clean the wafers as a first step of further processing, in order to remove particles and organic materials that may have been accumulated during storage.